Clip based speaker retention to a mounting surface

ABSTRACT

The technology disclosed herein enables retention of a speaker on a mounting surface using a clip and a flange. In a particular embodiment, an apparatus includes a speaker comprising a substantially elliptic speaker frame. The apparatus further includes a mounting surface comprising a substantially cylindrical flange into which the speaker frame is positioned. Also, the apparatus includes a substantially elliptic clip positioned in the flange between the speaker frame and a retaining rim of the flange.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Traditionally, speakers have been retained on a mounting surface of aproduct using rear supports from a rear cover of the product or byscrewing down a bracket that surrounds a perimeter of a speaker. Inother cases, a speaker is fastened with adhesives on the perimeter ofthe speaker's frame or by screws into the mounting surface through holesin the speaker's frame. These above examples tend to require many parts(e.g., brackets, gaskets, screws, etc.), which adds to cost and amountof labor needed for assembly. Some of these examples, such as retentionof a speaker using a rear cover of the product, also transmitsundesirable vibrations from the speaker to the rear cover of theproduct. These vibrations can lead to audio distortions and requiregreater efforts to compensate for the loss of fidelity. Furthermore,vibrations to the rear cover can cause rattles in other components ofthe product.

SUMMARY

The technology disclosed herein enables retention of a speaker on amounting surface using a clip and a flange. In a particular embodiment,an apparatus includes a speaker comprising a substantially ellipticspeaker frame. The apparatus further includes a mounting surfacecomprising a substantially cylindrical flange into which the speakerframe is positioned. Also, the apparatus includes a substantiallyelliptic clip positioned in the flange between the speaker frame and aretaining rim of the flange.

In some embodiments, the clip includes a gap in the circumference of theclip. In those embodiments, on each side of the gap, the clip mayinclude a tool grip point corresponding to a tool for positioning theclip.

In some embodiments, at least one vibration dampening element positionedin the flange to isolate the speaker from the mounting surface and theclip. In those embodiments, the at least one vibration dampening elementmay be of similar shape to the speaker frame.

In some embodiments, the speaker faces the mounting surface. In thoseembodiments, the mounting surface may include at least one openingthrough which sound produced by the speaker passes.

In some embodiments, the speaker faces away from the mounting surfaceand an opening in the mounting surface allows portions of the speaker,other than the speaker frame, to pass through the mounting surface.

In some embodiments, a telephone device includes the mounting surface.

In yet another embodiment, a method is includes positioning asubstantially elliptic speaker frame of the speaker into a substantiallycylindrical flange of the mounting surface. The method further includespositioning a substantially elliptic clip into the flange between thespeaker frame and a retaining rim of the flange.

In some embodiments, the clip includes a gap in the circumference of theclip. In those embodiments, the method may include squeezing the clip toreduce the size of the gap such that the clip fits through the rim andinto the flange and releasing the clip once the clip is in the flange.Also, in those embodiments, positioning the clip may include grippingthe clip on each side of the gap using a positioning tool gripping ontogrip points on each side of the gap.

In some embodiments, the method includes positioning at least onevibration dampening element in the flange to isolate the speaker fromthe mounting surface and the clip. In those embodiments, the at leastone vibration dampening element may be of similar shape to the speakerframe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a view of an unassembled speaker retention apparatusin an implementation.

FIG. 2 illustrates a view of an assembled speaker retention apparatus inan implementation.

FIG. 3 illustrates a profile view of a speaker retention apparatus in animplementation.

FIG. 4 illustrates another profile view of a speaker retention apparatusin an implementation.

FIG. 5 illustrates yet another profile view of a speaker retentionapparatus in an implementation.

FIG. 6 illustrates clips for a speaker retention apparatus in variousimplementations.

FIG. 7 illustrates a phone including a speaker retention apparatus in animplementation.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram for assembling a speaker retentionapparatus in an implementation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The manner of audio speaker retention described herein uses fewer partsto assemble, which leads to reduced cost and a reduced amount of laborwhen assembling a product that includes a speaker. Furthermore, thespeaker is not retained using a back face of a product, so none of thevibrations caused by the speaker producing sound are transferred throughthat back-face retention. Instead, the mounting surface to which thespeaker is retained includes a flange into which the speaker ispositioned. A clip holds the speaker within the flange when placedbetween the speaker's frame and a rim of the flange. Thus, to mount thespeaker to the mounting surface only two parts are required, themounting surface itself (with the required flange) and a clip, asdescribed further below.

FIG. 1 illustrates a view of an unassembled speaker retention apparatus100 in an implementation. Unassembled speaker retention apparatus 100includes mounting surface 101, speaker 102, and clip 103. Mountingsurface 101 has flange 111 and flange 111 includes rim 112. For purposesof this example, the visible face of mounting surface 101 is back face114 while the face under mounting surface 101 in its illustratedorientation is front face 115. This convention for front and back isused because typically a speaker will direct sound outward from thefront face of a mounting surface. However, there may exist exampleswhere a speaker will direct sound outward from a back face of a mountingsurface.

Mounting surface 101 is preferably one piece but may also be composed ofmultiple pieces assembled to create mounting surface 101. For example, aone-piece mounting surface 101 may be produced from injection moldedmaterials, such as plastic, may be 3D printed, may be casted, or may becreated using some other manufacturing method. In another example,flange 111 may be mated to the rest of mounting surface 101 using anadhesive or mechanical fastener. While mounting surface 101 is shown asa simple rectangular shape with flange 111, it should be understood thatmounting surface 101 may be a larger component, such as a panel for aproduct that includes speaker 102, and may therefore take many differentshapes.

Speaker 102 in this example is a round speaker but could take othersubstantially elliptic shapes, such as an oval shape that is anothercommon speaker shape. The shape of flange 111, at least the interiorthereof, is similar to the shape of frame 121 of speaker 102 but islarger than frame 121 in order for speaker 102 to be positioned intoflange 111. Similarly, mounting surface 101 in this example includes anopening 113 within flange 111 that allows sound generated by speaker 102to pass through mounting surface 101. Opening 113 must be sized and/orshaped such that, once speaker 102 is positioned within flange 111,speaker 102 does not pass through mounting surface 101. While opening113 in mounting surface 101 is similar in shape to frame 121, theopening in other examples may take other shapes and/or may includemultiple openings as long as that shape or multiple opening arrangementdoes not allow frame 121 to pass through mounting surface 101 whenplaced in flange 111.

Flange 111 includes rim 112 at the top of flange 111 that reduces theinternal size of flange 111 at the location of rim 112. In this example,rim 112 comprises six tabs but more or fewer tabs of different sizes maybe used in other examples as long as rim 112 is still able to perform asdescribed herein. In some cases, rim 112 may go around the entirety offlange 111 rather than being split into tabs, as shown. The number andsize of the tabs may depend on the material and size of clip 103 toensure that clip 103 can be positioned properly within flange 111 whilestill being rigid enough to hold speaker 102 in flange 111 oncepositioned. In some examples, the diameter of frame 121 may be smallerthan the inner diameter of rim 112 to ensure speaker 102 can bepositioned into flange 111, although, in other examples, the arrangementof tabs that make up rim 112 may such that a larger diameter frame 121can pass through rim 112 in certain orientations.

As alluded to above, clip 103 is positioned within flange 111 afterspeaker 102 has been placed within flange 111. In particular, clip 103is shaped similarly to frame 121 and flange 111 such that clip 103 canfit around all but frame 121 of speaker 102 and within flange 111 whilestill being held within flange 111 by rim 112. This allows clip 103 tohold speaker 102 in flange 111 since rim 112 holds clip 103 in flange111 while clip 103 in turn holds speaker 102 within flange 111. In orderto fit clip 103 under rim 112 and into flange 111 clip 103 ismanipulated (e.g., bent, squeezed, flexed, or otherwise misshapen) tofit within the diameter of rim 112. Clip 103 is composed of a material,including some types of plastics and some metals, that causes clip 103to return to its original shape, at least when manipulated to the extentnecessary to fit clip 103 within rim 112, when placed in flange 111. Inthis example, clip 103 includes a gap in the perimeter of its ellipticshape to make manipulating the shape of clip 103 to fit through rim 112easier. The gap forms what, in some applications, is called a c-clip andmay be any size as long as it still allows clip 103 to hold speaker 102in flange 111. In other examples, possibly depending on the materialcomposition of clip 103, clip 103 may not include a gap in its ellipticshape and still be able to be manipulated to fit under rim 112 and intoflange 111.

FIG. 2 illustrates a view of an assembled speaker retention apparatus200 in an implementation. Assembled speaker retention apparatus 200represents unassembled speaker retention apparatus 100 once speaker 102and clip 103 have been positioned in flange 111 of mounting surface 101.As can be seen in assembled speaker retention apparatus 200, speaker 102is within flange 111 and frame 121 has not passed through opening 113.Clip 103 is tucked under rim 112 and on top of frame 121 to hold speaker102 within flange 111 and up against mounting surface 101. Preferably,clip 103 holds frame 121 tightly enough within flange 111 that frame 121cannot move within flange 111 under normal operation of speaker 102since the vibrations of speaker 102 and/or movement of mounting surface101 (or the system/device of which mounting surface 101 is a part) couldotherwise cause speaker 102 to move and cause undesirable effects (e.g.,rattles, poor audio, etc.).

FIG. 3 illustrates a profile view of speaker retention apparatus 300 inan implementation. Speaker retention apparatus 300 represents a cutawaythrough the widest part of speaker 102 in assembled speaker retentionapparatus 200 where tabs of rim 112, tab 301 and tab 302, are on eitherside of flange 111. Speaker retention apparatus 300 clearly shows howmounting surface 101, speaker 102, and clip 103 fit together to retainspeaker 102 to mounting surface 101 in flange 111. In this example, thediameter of frame 121 is smaller than the opening between tab 301 andtab 302 so speaker 102 can be placed into flange without havingmanipulate the orientation of speaker 102 to pass through spaces betweentabs of rim 112. The diameter of frame 121 is also greater than thedistance across opening 113 so that frame 121 does not pass throughmounting surface 101. Clip 103 is placed above frame 121 and is wideenough on each side to overlap each of tab 301 and tab 302, and frame121. Once in place, clip 103 effectively extends the reach of rim 112 byreducing the distance across the opening of rim 112 to prevent frame 121from coming out of flange 111 while clip 103 is in position.

As can be gleaned from the discussion above, only the internalconfiguration/dimensions of flange 111 are important for retainingspeaker 102. As such while the outside of flange 111 is shown as risingstraight up on mounting surface 101, other external flangeconfigurations may be used. For example, mounting surface 101 may taperto the top of flange 111 or mounting surface 101 may be thicker toreduce the amount that flange 111 protrudes from the rest of mountingsurface 101 (possibly making the top of flange 111 be flush with therest of mounting surface 101).

FIG. 4 illustrates profile view of a speaker retention apparatus 400 inan implementation. The profile view in this example is similar to thatof FIG. 3 but speaker 102 is positioned in flange 111 in the oppositeorientation from the examples above. While the other examples showspeaker 102 in an orientation that directs sound through opening 113 inmounting surface 101, speaker retention apparatus 400 directs soundthrough the opening between rim 112 of flange 111. In this example, backface 114 may be considered the front face of mounting surface 101. Thespeaker orientation of speaker 102 in speaker retention apparatus 400may be beneficial in examples where a speaker may be changed frequently,therefore, easy access to clip 103 is advantageous. All the dimensionalrequirements of flange 111, rim 112, clip 103, and frame 121 remain thesame as speaker retention apparatus 300, although opening 113 in thisexample now needs to be large enough for the components of speaker 102to fit through. Clip 103 still holds speaker 102 in flange 111 by beingplaced between rim 112 and frame 121.

FIG. 5 illustrates a profile view of a speaker retention apparatus 500in an implementation. In this example, speaker retention apparatus 500has a spacer 501 that helps fill extra space in flange 111 between thebase of mounting surface 101 and rim 112 not taken up by frame 121 andclip 103. When seen from above, spacer 501 may have an elliptic shapesimilar to that of clip 103 and frame 121. Spacer 501 may have a gapsimilar to that of clip 103 to assist in placing spacer 501 withinflange 111. In some examples, spacer 501 may be attached within flange111 or to frame 121 and, in those examples, spacer 501 may be split intodifferent segments like the tabs of rim 112. In some examples, spacer501 may comprise a vibration dampening material that helps mitigatevibration transfer from speaker 102 to mounting surface 101, such assoft plastic, rubber, foam, etc. The use of spacer 501 in a vibrationdampening material may be especially beneficial when frame 121 is notcovered, at least partially, with a vibration dampening material, asopposed to being a harder material, such as metal or plastic. In thisexample, spacer 501 in profile forms around frame. In other examplesspacer 501 may have a similar shape to clip 103 and at least one ofwhich may be placed above and/or below frame 121. The use of spacer 501may also help prevent frame 121 and clip 103 from moving around inflange 111 in examples where frame 121 and clip 103 do not otherwisefill the vertical space between mounting surface 101 and rim 112.Likewise, spacer 501 as illustrated can fill more of the space betweenthe edge of frame 121 and the inner side of flange 111, which will helpprevent side to side motion of speaker 102 within flange 111.

FIG. 6 illustrates clip 601 and clip 602 for a speaker retentionapparatus in various implementations. Clip 601 and clip 602 arealternative examples of clip 103. Clip 601 and clip 602 include physicalfeatures on either side of their respective gaps to make manipulatingthe shape of clip 601 and clip 602 to fit past rim 112 into flange 111.In particular, clip 601 includes hole 611 and hole 612 for into which atool is placed when positioning clip 601 in, or removing clip 601 from,flange 111. For example, a pliers-type tool with tips narrow enough tofit into hole 611 and hole 612 may be used to squeeze clip 601 to reducethe size of the gap therein, which allows clip 601 to fit through rim112. Clip 602 includes tab 621 and tab 622 on either side of the gap.Tab 621 and tab 622 may help a person grip clip 602 to squeeze clip 602when placing clip 602 into, or removing clip 602 from, flange 111.Alternatively, a tool may, such as a pliers-type tool, be used to griptab 621 and tab 622 for placement and removal.

It should be understood that, while tab 621, tab 622, hole 611, and hole612 are each placed right next to the gaps in their respective clip 601and clip 602, tab 621, tab 622, hole 611, and hole 612 may be positionedelsewhere on clip 601 and clip 602 as long as the functionalitydescribed above is maintained. Similarly, the grip points offered by tab621, tab 622, hole 611, and hole 612 may take forms other than holes andtabs while maintaining the same functionality.

FIG. 7 illustrates phone 700 including a speaker retention apparatus inan implementation. Phone 700 includes face plate 701, handset 702, anddial pad 703. Handset 702 and dial pad 703 are common telephonecomponents used to talk and user input. Face plate 701 is an example ofmounting surface 101 when incorporated into a larger device. Theentirety of face plate 701 may be one continuous piece or may becomprise of multiple pieces assembled together. The front of face plate701 is currently in view in FIG. 7. The front of face plate 701 is anexample of front face 115 of mounting surface 101 and includes speakercover 704. Speaker cover 704 in this example includes a cross hatchingof face plate 701's material to allow passage of sound generated by aspeaker mounted to the back of face plate 701 in the manner describedherein. Speaker cover 704 is therefore an example of opening 113 fromabove. In other examples, speaker cover 704 may be made of materialsdifferent from the rest of face plate 701 (e.g., may be a mesh insert).While not shown, a flange similar to flange 111 exists on the back offace plate 701 and a speaker is retained therein, facing outward throughspeaker cover 704, by a clip similar to clip 103 in a manner similar tothat described in FIGS. 1-3 and/or 5 above.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram representing method 800 for assemblinga speaker retention apparatus in an implementation. Method 800 includespositioning frame 121 of speaker 102 into flange 111 (801). Speaker 102may be positioned such that speaker 102 faces into flange 111 andtowards back face 114, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 5, or may bepositioned such that speaker 102 faces out of flange 111 and away fromback face 114. In some examples, spacer(s) 501 may be positioned aroundframe 121 for vibration dampening, space filling, movement limiting, orfor some other reason (802).

After speaker 102 (and spacer(s) 501 if used) are positioned, clip 103is position into flange 111 between frame 121 and rim 112 to holdspeaker 102 (and spacer(s) 501 if used) within flange 111 (803). Asdiscussed above, clip 103 may be squeezed so as to reduce the size of agap therein, which reduces the dimensions of clip 103 enough to passthrough rim 112. Clip 103 can then be released once past rim 112 and inflange 111 so that clip 103 can return to dimensions that retain clip103 within rim 112. In some cases, grip points like those shown in FIG.6 may be used to squeeze clip 103. Other manners of manipulating clip103 past rim 112 and into flange 111 may also be used.

While the above examples focus on retaining an audio speaker to amounting surface, other types of similarly shaped audio components maybe retained in a similar manner. For example, a microphone with anelliptic frame similar to the speaker frames described above may beretained within a flange of a mounting surface using a clip between theframe and a rim of the flange.

The descriptions and figures included herein depict specificimplementations of the claimed invention(s). For the purpose of teachinginventive principles, some conventional aspects have been simplified oromitted. In addition, some variations from these implementations may beappreciated that fall within the scope of the invention. It may also beappreciated that the features described above can be combined in variousways to form multiple implementations. As a result, the invention is notlimited to the specific implementations described above, but only by theclaims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus with improved speaker retention, comprising: a speaker comprising a substantially elliptic speaker frame; a mounting surface comprising a substantially cylindrical flange, wherein the speaker frame is positioned into a first portion of the flange; and a substantially elliptic clip positioned in the first portion of the flange between the speaker frame and a retaining rim of the flange, wherein the retaining rim comprises a second portion of the flange with a smaller inner diameter than the first portion of the flange.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the clip includes a gap in the circumference of the clip.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein, on each side of the gap, the clip includes a tool grip point corresponding to a tool for positioning the clip.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: at least one vibration dampening element positioned in the first portion of the flange to isolate the speaker from the mounting surface and the clip.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one vibration dampening element is of similar shape to the speaker frame.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the speaker faces the mounting surface.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the mounting surface includes at least one opening through which sound produced by the speaker passes.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the speaker faces away from the mounting surface and an opening in the mounting surface allows portions of the speaker, other than the speaker frame, to pass through the mounting surface.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a telephone device includes the mounting surface.
 10. A method for retaining a speaker to a mounting surface, comprising: positioning a substantially elliptic speaker frame of the speaker into a first portion of a substantially cylindrical flange of the mounting surface; and positioning a substantially elliptic clip into the first portion of the flange between the speaker frame and a retaining rim of the flange, wherein the retaining rim comprises a second portion of the flange with a smaller inner diameter than the first portion of the flange.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the clip includes a gap in the circumference of the clip.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein positioning the clip comprises: squeezing the clip to reduce the size of the gap such that the clip fits through the rim and into the first portion of the flange; and releasing the clip once the clip is in the the first portion of the flange.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein positing the clip comprises: gripping the clip on each side of the gap using a positioning tool gripping onto grip points on each side of the gap.
 14. The method of claim 10, further comprising: positioning at least one vibration dampening element in the first portion of the flange to isolate the speaker from the mounting surface and the clip.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one vibration dampening element is of similar shape to the speaker frame.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein the speaker faces the mounting surface.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the mounting surface includes at least one opening through which sound produced by the speaker passes.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein the speaker faces away from the mounting surface and an opening in the mounting surface allows portions of the speaker, other than the speaker frame, to pass through the mounting surface.
 19. The method of claim 10, wherein a telephone device includes the mounting surface. 